Bavasi deserves some credit for boldness. He repeatedly said he wanted to find two quality starting pitchers, and he apparently has done that with Bedard and Carlos Silva joining Felix Hernandez, Miguel Batista and Jarrod Washburn in a suddenly formidable rotation.

But will that be enough to generate the five to 10 more wins the Mariners will need to make the playoffs?

Stranger things have happened. Remember when Julia Roberts married Lyle Lovett? That was stranger than the Mariners winning 95 games in 2008 would be.

Recall that last season’s 88 victories despite a significant negative run differential was a statistical abnormality that’s due for a correction. Consider that Jones’ departure figures to provide a sizable hit to the defense as well as the offense. The alleged potential stopgap of free agent Brad Wilkerson platooning with Wladimir Balentien in right field won’t send many hearts aflutter.

Bedard and Hernandez could form the most formidable 1-2 punch in the game behind Webb and Haren and have the potential to be better given how young the two are and the upside of Hernandez, that said, Washburn, Silva, and Batista are not going to shake batters knees that much. I dont think their rotation is all that great, it is good all the way through, but it isnt anything to get excited about after those first two. I do believe getting Bedard for Jones was a good call. Sure Jones could be great someday, but I would always rather have proven major league talent than a guy who has a good minor league track record but not a major league one cause they dont always pan out.

Reyes and guerrero, the two most blessed players in the league, not to mention the most fun to watch

bsblallstr wrote:Bedard and Hernandez could form the most formidable 1-2 punch in the game behind Webb and Haren and have the potential to be better given how young the two are and the upside of Hernandez, that said, Washburn, Silva, and Batista are not going to shake batters knees that much. I dont think their rotation is all that great, it is good all the way through, but it isnt anything to get excited about after those first two. I do believe getting Bedard for Jones was a good call. Sure Jones could be great someday, but I would always rather have proven major league talent than a guy who has a good minor league track record but not a major league one cause they dont always pan out.

I think whether you want "proven" versus "unproven" depends on where you are in the success cycle among other things. The Orioles are at least 4-5 years from being a contender. Bedard is less than 2 years from FA. He's indicated he'll take a serious look at other offers at that time. By the time the Orioles contend Bedard will be a 33-34 year old pitcher, IF he is even on the team and not injured. So, the Orioles' choice is risk that or get something that they have a better chance of being of greater value at that time.

Seattle, otoh, thinks they are closer to contending (I think they are wrong). Those "proven" players are more valuable to them than prospects. And taking a risk that they can win now with Bedard is a better bet than risking that they will still have the talent to contend by the time Jones makes a major contribution.

In addition to think that Seattle is wrong about where they are in the success cycle, I think they are wrong on the risk tradeoff with Jones and Bedard. Pitchers are inherently riskier, and Bedard has some higher risks built in from injury/durability. Jones, on the other hand, is hardly unproven. He's an incredible defender and about a sure thing contributor over the next 2-4 years as you can get from a prospect.

I hope the big Peter gets the hell out of the way.

"I don't want to play golf. When I hit a ball, I want someone else to chase it."

Seattle is definitely a team in limbo of rebuilding and making a run, which is really not an ideal situation. You have a superstar CF who could be the best lead off hitter in baseball, and a few guys with mediocre power behind him, but nothing spectacular. The bottom end of the lineup isn't much of anything; it just blows my mind for Bavasi to think he can actually compete for a title with Jose Vidro as the DH. What really hurts is the defense of the corner OFs and in todays game you either have to smash the cover off the ball, or you have to play some good defense and having good pitching.

How has he been effective? The team hasn't been to the playoffs since 2001 despite having one of the top 10 payrolls. I actually don't mind the Beltre signing at all, as I think he's underrated as a hitter and is a spectacular defensive third baseman. However, his trade record is absolutely horrible and he's made some really bad signings in Sexson, Washburn, and Silva. Plus he's delusional thinking that they are a Bedard away from being a legitimate contender.

I was hoping that they'd take the chance to rebuild/retool this offseason but it's apparent that's not the case. That being said, his hands are somewhat tied by his higher-ups who won't suffer through "a Cleveland style rebuild" (yeah since that obviously didn't work). Anyway, Bavasi is a dunce.

I will say though that if the AJ/Bedard deal does go through, they may as well just sell the rest of the farm and really make a run. Add a couple of bats and see what happens. But the M's just seem to be in a steady state of half-assery, which is very frustrating as a fan.